Mine (A Dramione Fanfiction)
by asdfghjaade
Summary: Hermione's life after the war was a bliss one. She lives with her boyfriend, has the best of friends and has a stable job. The only problem is that she hates her job. As if her prayers have been answered, her company relocates her to a new company. Upon exploring the building, she sees that the president of her new company is a familiar face and suddenly fears losing her job due to
1. Chapter 1

"Ron! Be careful, you might drop it!" Hermione quickly turned her head towards Ginny's frantic yelling, her brown bushy hair slightly blocking her view. As she pulled her hair away from her face, she saw a pink-faced Ron Weasley place a gravy boat onto a nearby shelf. "Really Ronald, can we not take you anywhere without you being a hazard?"

A smiling Harry joined his fiancé, pecked her on the cheek and said, "Must run in the family then, mustn't it?"

It had been five years since the battle of Hogwarts during their seventh year. After the war, Professor McGonnagal took the Headmistress position and request that all students who were supposed to be graduating return for another year to complete their studies and receive their N.E.W.T.S. It was only last year, however, when Harry proposed to his girlfriend of four years, Ginny, who obviously said yes. Their upcoming marriage is really why Ron almost dropped the porcelain; they were shopping for household items to complete Harry and Ginny's new house.

"I don't see why I have to be here anyway, it's not like I'm going to care what type of plate I'm using. I just want food on it", said Ron with an obvious hint of annoyance in his tone.

Ginny just gave a roll of her eyes and said, "It's not like I wanted you here either, dummy. I only wanted Hermione to come with Harry and I because I needed another woman's opinion. You insisted on coming because you didn't want to be left out."

Ron's face quickly turned a brighter shade of pink, but it disappeared as fast as it arrived. "Not only that. Hermione is my girlfriend, and I was planning on spending time with her before you made her come on this boring excursion."

"Both of you stop it," Hermione cut in before Ginny could retort. "You two have been at it since the drive here. I honestly think we're all done here because you have more than enough porcelain in the buggy. Let's all go now so we can have dinner and quit this arguing." No one else said a word as Hermione led the way to check-out booth.

After everything was paid for, they headed for a restaurant across the street. While they were sitting at the corner booth, Hermione looked a few tables to her left and spotted a familiar black-haired girl with an unfamiliar brown-haired boy. The other three followed her line of gaze and soon they were all wondering who the boy was.

Harry was the first to break their thoughts. "I thought Pansy Parkinson was with Malfoy after the war. They seemed pretty comfortable with each other during our make-up year."

"I guess not anymore," Ginny said. "Who do you reckon that is?"

Hermione saw Ron open his mouth to say something when a waitress arrived at the booth and asked for their beverage order. They each ordered a glass of water and got back to the matter at hand. Just then, another familiar figure walked in - this time a blonde.

There was so much fury and anger radiating off of him you could roast a marshmallow. His eyebrows met in the middle of his forehad and his nose was scrunched in disgust. His hands were clenched so tightly that the knuckles were white, and he took long strides as he marched over to Pansy's table, gaining looks from other customers.

Hermione noticed something balled up in his left hand but she couldn't figure out what it was. It wasn't until he dropped the object in Pansy Parkinson's soup bowl did Hermione realize that it was a letter, now wrinkled from his strong grip and wet from Pansy's soup.

"Draco, I-," she began. She stood up to face him properly, but she looked to the floor in fear.

Draco raised a hand to interrupt her and she flinched thinking he would hit her. Instead, he curled up four of his fingers and was pointing at her with his index finger. "I don't want to hear it. You were always telling me you were brave enough to do anything but you're a coward. Did you really think that breaking up with me through a letter would make things okay? Grow up and tell me to my face! Do I not deserve that? Do I not deserve some respect? And now I find you not 1 hour after you sent that letter as you're with him again!" He lowered his hands so that his fingertips were resting on the tablecloth. "You will regret this, Parkinson. Mark. My. Words."

He reached for the water pitcher and dumped its contents onto the brown-haired boy's lap faster than Hermione could blink. And with that, Draco Malfoy stormed out, purposely knocking over tables and some more glassware along the way.

Pansy stood there crying until her date stood up to comfort her. She swatted his sympathetic hands away and ran out of the restaurant. As the now soaked man walked out the door to follow her, Hermione finally realized something.

"Blimey. He still has that same temper from all those years ago. You would think he'd use a few years to get rid of it." Ron's voice broke her out of her thoughts.

It was quiet until Hermione cleared her throat and spoke up.

"You know, I was talking to Pavarti the other day over coffee, and she said that Pansy and Draco have gone on and off since we graduated," she said. "She said she saw Pansy with a some guy every few weeks when she went to central muggle London. I guess that was him."

"Do you reckon they've been seeing each other while she was with Malfoy? He did seen more upset than he would be with a regular break up. Maybe there was something else going on." Ginny added. She did have a good point, but before anyone could say something about it the waitress came with their water. They then ordered their main courses and continued talking.

However they didn't bring up the incident that just happened, they began to talk about quidditch and Hermione slowly excluded herself from the conversation as it didn't interest her. She turned her head to the right and used her hair as a sort of curtain to block herself from Harry, Ron and Ginny while she looked through the window.

It was the middle of February and snow was slowly drifting down from the sky. Hermione found that she had to slightly squint her eyes to see past the bright light that the snow was giving off. As men, women and children, all bundled up in their winter coats walked by, Hermione swore she heard the delicate crunch of snow through the slightly ajar window.

She looked across the street and saw a bookstore. Her eyes widened at the sight. Not at the mass amounts of books, but at the man who walked towards it.

She noticed that Draco didn't look as mad as he did when he stormed into the restaurant. In fact, his face seemed to be growing with content with every step closer to the shop. His hands were hanging lazily at his sides as they swung back and forth with each pace. The faintest of smiles slowly crept upon his face as he disappeared into the pile of books.


	2. Chapter 2

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

Hermione groaned as the abrupt beeping dragged her away from her blissful dreams.

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

She glanced over to see that it was 6 o'clock in the morning.

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

Five more minutes, she thought to herself.

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

But that simply wasn't an option. She needed to get ready for work.

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

She could have used yesterday as a day to sleep in. Sundays were usually her rest days. But it was Monday now, and there was money to be made.

BEEP. BE-

She swung her hand and it painfully collided with the OFF button on her alarm clock. Just like her hand, her legs swung over the side of the bed, and she sat for a while to stretch and get the last bit of sleepiness out.

With her eyes half-open, she stumbled to the ensuite and stared at her reflection above the sink. Her hair was almost completely disheveled and she clearly did not take her make up off properly last night, as there were black smudges under her eyes. She stepped a few paces to her left to turn the shower on. She let the water get warm while she undressed herself and picked up a new bar of soap.

When she stepped into the shower, she let the hot water run over her shoulders before submerging her face into the running stream. With her eyes closed, she let her mind wander. She wondered why she was so tired and remembered that she has stayed at Harry and Ginny's new house until 11 o'clock last night. Her mind then began to recall memories of what happened last night. Porcelain shopping. Restaurant. Pansy and Mustery Boy. Draco.

Draco. Although his hair had been clipped shorter, his face looked very much the same as it had five years ago. While Hermione washed her hair, she started to recall the faces of all her old classmates. What were they up to now?

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard the sound of Ron opening the bathroom door and run the tap water. After hearing more clinking and clacking, she heard a brushing sound and realized that he must be brushing his teeth. She waited for him to finish before she turned off the shower, wrapped herself in a towel and stepped into the coldness of the bathroom.

When she left the bathroom, she found her boyfriend in the middle of the room, trying to put on his tie. His belt was unbuckled, his shirt buttoned only half way, and his hair was yet to be combed. Hermione couldn't hold in her smile, so she walked over to him.

"Love, what are you doing?" she said, almost laughing.

"I thought I'd try and tie my own tie this morning. Clearly it didn't work out for me," he chuckled. "Help?"

Hermione burst out laughing and reached over to tie his tie. Might as well button his shirt, she though and she reached down to finish the buttons. With her hands already down there, she buckled his belt and returned we hands to holding up the towel that covered herself.

"I only wanted you to do the tie, you know," Ron said teasingly.

She laughed. "Well at least now you can go downstairs and make me my eggs."

He kissed her in the forehead and pulled her in for a hug. He held her for a few moments before releasing her, kissing her on the cheek and heading downstairs.

By the time Hermione went downstairs, yesterday's make up was replaced with fresh eyeliner and mascara, her wet bushy hair was now dry and straightened, and her dark-colored skinny denim jeans contrasted the bright blue of her blouse. She walked into the kitchen to see Ron finishing up with breakfast. Hermione set the table and sat down while Ron brought her her eggs and toast. As Ron sat down, Hermione stood up to get them both a glass of juice. Orange for Hermione, strawberry-banana for Ron. One of the many perks of living in muggle London: various assortments of juice.

When she sat back down, she handed Ron his juice.

"Looking for new jobs again today?" asked Ron.

Hermione had coworkers at her current job that she absolutely despised. She couldn't handle it and had been spending the past month looking for another job during her lunch break. So far, no luck.

"Yes dear. I thought I was so close last week. This company a few blocks away was looking for a new employee- the exact position I wanted. But they had already filled the spot and told me they weren't looking for anyone else." she replied, disappointed.

Ron took her hand, kissed it, and said, "Don't you worry, my love. I have no doubts that you will find a better job."

Having finished her breakfast, she stood up with her plate and empty glass, kissed Ron on the cheek and placed her dirty dishes into the sink. She would wash them when she gets home.

The drive to work was always terrible. Another reason she needed a new job. She walked into the building and said hello to the receptionist. She would miss her when she left.

She headed to the elevators and pressed the button that would land her on the 12th floor.

When she finally got to her office, she set down her bags and took off her coat. She placed her coat on the bak of her chair and sat down at her desk. She noticed that there was new paper work to be archived and moaned at the sight of the stacked papers. Beside the papers was her agenda, and she opened it to check for meetings. There was one that did not require her attendance, but decided I go anyway. The meeting started at 9:45, which was half an hour from now. She decided to start the paperwork while waiting for the meeting.

Not 10 minutes later, the phone at her desk rang. The receptionist at the front, Flora, said that there was a guest at the front desk. He is required at the 9:45 meeting and everyone else is apparently busy, so Hermione must be the one to escort the guest to the board room. She obliged, and headed for the elevator.

When she reached the main lobby, she politely nodded and greeted fellow coworkers that were stationed on different floors; coworkers she could actually tolerate. Upon reaching the front desk, Hermione was about to ask Flora who the guest was, when she saw a flash of dirty blond hair flick upward and the body attached rise from a seat in her peripheral vision. She held her head down while the man approached to see designer Italian shoes, well-tailored suit pants, and as she lifted her head, she took notice of the man's perfectly ironed dress shirt and blazer and cleanly shaven neck. Within seconds, she was face to face with the legendary Draco Malfoy.


	3. Chapter 3

In the meeting room was a long, rectangular table made of dark wood with five chairs on either long side and two chairs at the head of the table. To the left was a projector where the usual company statistics and charts appear.

It was only 9:30 AM, so Hermione and Draco were the only ones in the room. Hermione sat down three seats away from the projector and Draco sat directly in front of her. He was flipping through some papers and nodding to himself in satisfaction. Hermione couldn't help but notice that he looked almost the exact same as when they graduated, except he now had more facial hair and small wrinkles around his eyes.

He must have sensed her gaze because he looked up, gave her a quick nod and returned to his paper work. "Quit staring at me, Granger," he said with a smile. "It's rather unnerving."

Before she could reply, the president of the company, Mr. Scott, his assistant, Grace, and several other colleagues walked into the room. They sat down around Hermione and Draco, Mr. Scott taking the seat at the head of the table. Some of them had brought folders and papers like Draco, but the rest just sat down and prepared to listen attentively like Hermione.

However, when the meeting actually started, she did not listen attentively and in fact drifted off into her own mind. She began to wonder why Draco was here in the first place. It must have something to do with those papers, she thought. She let her mind wander until the sound of someone calling her name snapped her out of her reverie. It was Mr. Scott, and now everyone was looking at her.

"Yes, sir?" she asked. How long had they been waiting for her to respond?

"You are on the list of people we are relocating to Mr. Malfoy's company. Please pack up your desk and prepare to leave with the other coworkers by noon," he replied. Then everyone looked at the projector, which stated that the company Hermione works for was bought out by Draco's company and he now wants to tale some of their employees to see how efficient his new company was.

Draco was still looking at her, and he nodded his head towards the door to tell her to get her things. She blankly nodded and slowly stood up. When she left the room, she softly closed the door behind her to not disturb anyone in the room. As she was walking away, she could feel Draco's gaze still on her through the glass pane window. She decided not to look back at him, so she quickened her pace to get to her office faster.

By the time she got to her office it was 10:45 AM. She had a little over an hour before she had to leave the building. It's a good thing she didn't leave a lot in her office anyway, because then it would have taken a lot more than an hour to get all of her things. She only had her coat, an extra pair of shoes, some picture frames and folders of paperwork that she needed to take with her. She could get that done in an hour, maybe less than that even.

Hermione went downstairs to the main desk to ask Flora if she had any boxes that she could use to pack up all her stuff in. She found a few boxes that would work and went back upstairs to pack. When she finished, she put all of her stuff in her car, said goodbye to Flora one last time, and headed for Draco's company building.

It was already 6 o'clock by the time Hermione got home. Ron would be home within the hour and she still had to make dinner. She slipped out of her heels, dropped her bag to the floor and walked barefoot to the kitchen to pour herself a glass of water. Then she walked over to the fridge to see what she would make for dinner. There wasn't much in the fridge since she missed her bi-weekly Sunday grocery shopping trip, but there were still some chicken breasts, eggs and green beans. She would batter and fry the chicken and sauté the vegetables.

Ron got home at 7 that night; little later than usual, but not by much. When Hermione heard the front door open she finished up sautéing the beans and went to the door. She saw Ron standing there holding his briefcase, staring blankly at the floor in front of him. When she called his name, he didn't even flinch. He looked as if he had seen a ghost.

"Ron," she repeated, "are you alright?"

"Mione," he said, finally meeting her gaze. "Is dinner ready?"

She was startled. "Yes, it is. Is dinner really what you looked so worried over?"

It seemed like he was still processing her words. "No, but I'll tell you over dinner."

She didn't know what to say. She wasn't sure if he was still looking at her, but she gave a small nod and slowly walked back to the kitchen to set the table. She could hear Ron's footsteps going up the stairs and into the bedroom. What had made him look like that?

Ron's footsteps pounded through the floor as he made his way back downstairs. When he entered the kitchen, Hermione was pouring herself her fourth glass of water and the food was already at the table. He sat down at his usual spot and Hermione stood at the counter drinking her water. He still looked pale, but he was beginning to take in his surroundings. He motioned for Hermione to sit, and so she sat. She took another sip of water while Ron was putting some chicken and green beans onto his plate. Then he took Hermione's plate and did the same thing.

She put down her glass of water, took a bite of the chicken and watched as Ron took a bite of his own chicken. Her mind still wandered. With each second that passed by, she grew more and more curious as to what Ron was so worried about. Soon she couldn't take it, and was going to bring it up when Ron started to speak.

"Dad visited me at work today,' he said. Ron worked at the Ministry of Magic as an auror. His office was a few floors down from Mr. Weasley's office, so seeing each other at work was not an abnormal event.

"Oh," she replied, confused. "Well… how is he then?"

"He's well. He's not ill anymore," he said, still sulking.

"Is that bad?" she asked, confused.

"No, no that's great news. But after dad left my office, Mr. Ott came in."

"Your boss?" she asked slowly. Hermione couldn't remember who he was, but when he nodded she gave herself a high-five in her mind. "Did he say anything?" _Anything that might have startled you?_ she thought to herself.

"Yes actually," he said. Ron hesitated before saying, "he offered to promote me. Better pay, he says."

Hermione felt ecstatic for a brief moment. She was so happy for Ron that Mr. Ott himself came into Ron's office to offer him his promotion. She was in the middle of wondering whether or not he took it when she realized he still looked deeply upset.

"Ron?" she said softly, and he snapped his head up, raising his eyebrows as if to let her continue. "Ron this is good news. I don't understand why you look so depressed over it. Did you accept the offer?"

He slowly shook his head and looked down to the floor again. "I told him I would think about it for now. I thought I would take it too, but when he started telling me the details I was slowly backing out on his offer." When Hermione asked what the details were, he took a big breath and then exhaled. Another breath. Then said: "It's not exactly a promotion. An auror is an auror and there isn't really a higher level than that that I'm aware of. However, what Mr. Ott was offering me was something like that. Same position, but he's relocating me to a new office and I get a raise in my salary." His face dropped when he said the last few words.

Hermione still didn't understand. Ron should have been as happy as she was. Why wasn't he? "Ron this is fantastic, though you still seem upset. Is there something you haven't told me?"

She heard him sniff, and when he looked up, tears threatened to spill out like a bursting water balloon. "The office they plan to relocate me to is in America. It's only for 18 months, but it seems like much more," and when he said "America" tears sprang out of his eyes, and then more came until they were creating little rivers on his face. His crying made Hermione want to cry, but she told herself not to because she knew that if she started she would never stop. Especially if she was crying because of Ron.

When she composed herself, she stood up from her chair and walked over to where her boyfriend was sitting. She moved his arms out of the way to sit on his lap. He rested his head in the crook of her elbow and she pet his hair to calm him down, though it seemed impossible, because the rivers of tears were now turning into lakes that would eventually become ponds on his shirt. She pulled the sleeve of her blouse over her hand and wiped his tears. Useless, since they just kept coming. She kept petting his hair and shushing him until he looked up.

"What are we going to do for 18 months?" he asked, with what seemed to be the last of the tears streaming down his face.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"I mean- well. It's kind of how I just asked it. What are we going to do? The Ministry is only paying for me to go, since I'm the only one with business in America. I don't think we have enough for you to come with me. And that would mean we have to sell this house, wouldn't it? Also, what are you going to do in America for 18 months? I imagine it would be hard to get a job there because there are so many bloody people. And maybe they have different requirements-"

Hermione didn't get to hear the rest of his rant because she had tuned him out. What _were_ they going to do? She hadn't thought about all this in during the silence he had given her while coming up with how to break the news to her. It definitely _would_ be hard to get a job in America because they might have different standards, and she had no interest in working with Americans.

So did that mean he was leaving her here in London? She had never thought that she would be alone. Well, without Ron really. She had never thought about it before because it was absurd. In her mind, she didn't see a reason as to why they would ever be apart. But now here it was, right in front of her, happening right now.

And her new job. She still hadn't old Ron.

"Ron, I also have news."

He quickly stopped his frantic mumbling and asked, "What? What is it? Are you pregnant? Are we having a child?!"

She softly slapped his arm and said, "Goodness, Ron, no! I'm not pregnant! I was in a meeting today and Mr. Scott told me that he was relocating some employees to another company, and I was one of them. They had apparently let go of some of their employees and when they bought my company they wanted to bring some people in to see if they worked efficiently; make sure they got their money's worth."

He stretched up to kiss her cheek. "Mione, I'm so happy for you," he said with a sincere smile. Then he scrunched his eyebrows together and said, "Then that means I really can't bring you to America with me. You need to stay here and work."

She saw that as reasonable, and didn't have the energy to form a rebuttal. She simply nodded and slid off his lap. Seeing as neither of them had much of an appetite, she took both plates of untouched chicken and vegetables and placed them onto the counter so she could wrap them up and save them for later. When she turned around, Ron was right in her face, startling her. He walked forward, making her walk backwards until her hip hit the edge of the counter. Hermione looked up into his big eyes that were now tear-free. He wrapped his big, strong arms around her and she did the same and rested her head in the crook of his neck. His thumb rubbed small circles in the small of her back and she held onto him tighter.

When they finally released each other, he kissed her forehead and took her hand to lead her into the bedroom.

5


	4. Chapter 4

_Ugh what time is it? _Hermione thought to herself as she sat at her new desk. Since she and the other employees from her company were only staying there temporarily, they were assigned cubicles. This was fine for Hermione since she didn't bring a lot of things to work with her anyway, but every once in a while she would hear the complaints of her female coworker that worked behind her. Thankfully, her cubicle was stationed near a window that overlooked a forest.

She looked at the big wall clock at the far wall and saw that it was 10 o'clock. Needing to take a break from settling in and getting used to new surroundings, Hermione walked toward the kitchen to get her third cup of coffee.

As she was waiting for the pot to brew, she sat down at the table closest to the coffee machine. She liked to watch the dripping of her beverage because it helped her to take her mind off things. Soon she zoned out, but what snapped her back to reality was the sound of a chair squeaking on the floor some inches to her right.

When Hermione turned around she saw a man sitting down in the chair he pulled out setting some fruits on the table. He looked up at her with eyes that resembled the ocean, and smiled at her with teeth as white and perfect as pearls. When he smiled, the skin under his unshaven beard crinkled in all the right places. When he looked back down, his light brown hair clipped just above his eyebrows flopped down with the rest of his head. The dark blue blazer he wore contrasted almost perfectly with his eyes, and the black of his t-shirt made his cream skin seem darker than it should, but maybe it was just her.

The coffee machine beeped and Hermione had to shake her head to remember what she was doing. She stood up to get her mug and pour her coffee in. When she finished flavoring her drink with cream and sugar, she saw a plate of muffins just by the door. How had she not seen them when she walked in? Nevertheless, she took a banana nut muffin and popped a piece into her mouth. Satisfied with the taste, she walked out of the kitchen, muffin and coffee in hand, when a blue-colored arm reached out in front of her to grab a cranberry muffin. She abruptly came to a stop but thankfully never spilled her coffee.

As blue-blazer man was walking out of the kitchen, he kept his eyes on hers and winked at her just before the frame of his body disappeared behind the frame of the door.

It took her a while to realize what had just happened. He smiled at her. Then he winked at her. Both equally made him look even more attractive than he did with a straight face.

Wait, what was she doing? Ron's level of attractiveness was what she was supposed to be thinking about, not this random man's.

But then again, he was random, she thought as she walked back to her cubicle. He was a random man she met at her work kitchen, and, though they worked together, it was unlikely they would see each other again.

When lunch rolled around, Hermione found herself sitting at a table nearest the window so that she wouldn't lose sight of the forest view. Plus, there was no one she really wanted to sit with today, so she thought that if she sat neat the back of the kitchen no one would notice her.

She was wrong.

She was in the middle of putting her leftover chicken from last night into her mouth when blue-blazer man sat directly across from her at the table. However, when he sat down with some fancy magazine, he made no indication of her presence. No smile, no wink. Nothing. She thought nothing of it so she sat there and continued eating her chicken and green beans and staring out the window. She saw a deer walk out onto where the concrete met the forest, but it quickly retreated back at the sight of smokers.

"Morning Lewis," she heard an unfamiliar, deep voice say. Maybe it belonged to the voice of the mystery man.

When she looked up, she saw a familiar blond sitting across from her, beside said mystery man. He was looking back, and he smiled at her; almost as perfect as the man sitting beside him, but not quite.

_Stop it_, she thought to herself.

"Mornin' Draco," said Lewis. Huh. He looks like a Lewis.

She was still looking at Draco, and he was still smiling. Lewis didn't even look up, and she was so grateful that no one else was paying attention to her.

"Care to introduce me to your friend here?" Draco asked Lewis.

That's when Lewis finally looked up. "Oh, I've no idea who she is. Cute though," he said, as though she weren't there, and with that he looked back down into his magazine.

Both men were grinning now. Hermione could feel one tugging at the corners of her lips but decided not to and resumed eating her chicken.

When she had finished eating, she put her containers back into the lunch bag she had brought and stood up to make her way back to her cubicle. Draco stood up as soon as she did, told Lewis he would see him later, and walked out of the kitchen.

While Hermione was making her way out of the kitchen, she turned a corner and almost screamed when Draco walked right into her. She was about to apologize, but the look on his face made it seem like this was his intention, so instead she cleared her throat and tried to walk around him. He stopped her at placed her back where she was before.

"Granger," he said with a smirk. "Never had I thought we would meet again like this. How's Weasel?"

"_Ron_ is doing very well thanks. I would ask you how you are in return because that would be the courteous thing to do. Only I don't care," she said, annoyed. And with that she walked past him and headed to where the cubicles were.

With his hands in his pockets, he somehow managed to catch her pace, which would have been faster had she not been wearing heels. Even though she wasn't looking at him, she could feel him smiling; shining brightly like the sun. "Just as feisty as I remember," he said in an almost-laugh. He quickened his pace and stopped right in front of her face so that they were now face-to-face again. He looked like he was going to say something witty or sarcastic, but instead he said, "I hope you like working here, Granger."

And he walked off in the opposite direction, hands still buried in his pockets.

_Just as cocky as I remember_, she thought as she watched him saunter away.

She remember when she saw Draco's little episode at the restaurant a few days ago. How different he looks compared to that night. For some reason, he smiled more now than he did before. She knew it was just a show, for all she was to him was a 'filthy mud-blood' and she hardly saw why that would change.

3


	5. Chapter 5

The morning before Ron's scheduled departure was upsetting. They both ate together, got ready and went to work in completely dreadful silence. All day, the only thing Hermione could think about was Ron. She even ran into Lewis today and accidentally called him "Ron".

When she got home after work, Ron was already home. He was sitting at the dining table on the phone with someone. She decided not to disturb, so she quietly grabbed a glass of water and waved to him. When he waved back, she went upstairs to change.

She moved utterly slowly. When she was sad, she didn't like to move a lot because she it made her mad. So she took her time getting undressed and redressed. As she was finishing up washing her face, Ron came into the room.

"That was Mr. Ott I was on the phone with," he said as he walked in. "He just called to tell me the details of where to go once I landed in America." He stood against the door frame, arms crossed and head leaning on the wall. "I'm going to miss going to bed with you every night. Waking up to your face every morning. Coming home to you after work. See-"

Hermione cut him off with a sudden, passionate kiss. He secured his hands at the small of her back, and she wrapped her arms around his neck. It wasn't long before she started crying, the tears going into both of their mouths. She hadn't meant to cry, she only wanted Ron to stop talking about the things he would miss, because she knew she would miss them too.

When she pulled away, she couldn't look him in the eye. She bent her head down and leaned her fore head on his chest. His chin rested on the top of her head and now they were both crying. Ron's flight was tomorrow morning at 6 and they had less than 12 hours together.

After what seemed about an hour, they both had stopped crying and had somehow made their way to the bed, both of them just lying there and holding each other until it was time. She glanced over his shoulder at the alarm clock on Ron's side of the bed. 7:30.

She sat up and looked him in the eye. "Ron," she said quietly, "will we still be together when you're gone?"

He sat up too. "Mione, of course we won't. I'm going to be on the other side of the world, how are we supposed to sleep together?"

Normally, she would have laughed but she wasn't feeling it tonight. "No, Ron, I know that. What I mean is- ugh. I meant, will I still be your girlfriend when you're gone?"

He sat there quietly for a while. She couldn't blame him. If the roles were switched and he had asked her that, she had no idea what she would say. She didn't think either of them thought that this would be happening. Being apart from each other didn't even seem possible because they always assumed they would be together forever. Hermione wondered now if they would ever marry.

"To be honest, Hermione, I've been thinking about this since I got offered this position, and the only logical thing I can think of is us becoming just friends like we were before," said Ron. He was looking down and his orange fringe hid his eyes.

She felt as if lightning had pierced through her heart. She felt like she couldn't breathe. She felt mad. Mad that 10 years of trying to get Ron to be with her had gone to waste, and over some stupid job. She was completely frustrated and she didn't know what to do. Just friends? Not that torture again. Hermione didn't think she could handle being in contact with Ron, knowing there was something there but not being a couple. Absolute torture.

"Ron, are you sure? I don't think- I don't think I'm comfortable with that," she replied slowly.

"Mione what are you talking about? I've been thinking about this for almost a week and this is the only way we can both be equally happy. I know that for the beginning it will be difficult for the both of us. But look at what we've been through with Harry. We are both so strong, we'll get through it," he said, still not looking up. He took one of her hands into his and caressed it so delicately, as if it were to break if he dropped it. "I love you so much, and you know that. And I know that you love me."

She wanted to cry, but it wouldn't come. The shock of what he just said made her sit perfectly still. It wasn't long before his words were processed into her mind. _Just friends._Hermione could feel her heart start to beat faster, like she was on an adrenaline rush. The feeling in her chest made its way to her neck, slowly creeping up to her scalp until her brain started to hurt. She closed her eyes to make the pain go away, and when she opened her eyes, Ron hadn't moved. He sat perfectly still waiting for her response.

Of course she loved him a lot. And she knew that he loved her just as much. Would that change once he moved? Would he find someone else to love like that? Or would she? If they remained friends, then the loss wouldn't be so bad, she figured. If they broke it off and decided not to talk to each other anymore then that would hurt almost a thousand times more than if they broke it off and still kept in contact. At least she would know that he's still okay.

She came to realize that this was indeed the best option. Obviously it would hurt for a while but she could get through it. Besides, it's not as if she would be totally alone in London anyway.

Her heart still hurt, so she didn't have the energy to explain what she had just thought to him, so she simply nodded and looked him in the eye again. When she smiled, his face broke into a small smile and he lay back down on the bed, motioning for her to join him. They lay there, holding each other for another hour when she heard his breathing go at a steady rate.

Hermione looked up to check if he was sleeping, but he wasn't. He was staring at the blank wall across the bed. He looked so good like that. His face was relaxed. He didn't seem to have any worries whatsoever. Everything about him looked so peaceful. It made her reach up and kiss his neck. He jerked away, claiming with a smile that it tickled.

She smirked and began to kiss his neck more. He didn't complain that it tickled anymore; instead he moved she that she was on top of him and his hands were on her waist. He lifted his head up so that Hermione could continue kissing his neck. She made her way up his neck and was now biting at his earlobe. He let out a small sigh which made Hermione smile in satisfaction.

She released his ear and rested her forehead against his, noses touching. Ron's hands moved slowly up and down her back, dragging the hem of her shirt with it. She could see in his eyes that he was refraining from lifting her shirt off. Maybe he was refraining from doing other things to.

He kissed her then, forcing her to stop thinking about what he was refraining from doing. She kissed him back, but this time she could feel his tongue enter her mouth. Hers fell into his mouth in response. Soon the kiss became lovingly deep, and he rolled over so that he was now straddling her. He broke the kiss to take his shirt off, and Hermione noted that this might be the last time she would see those abs. She smiled at the sight and reached up to grab his neck.

Before she made it, though, he had bent down to kiss her and at the same time unbutton her blouse. She never objected when he did this, and she didn't now. She loved the way his cold hands left a tingling sensation on her chest and stomach as he made his way down her body. She sighed into her mouth, which made him move faster. He made his way to the button of her pants, then to the zipper and was now moving his hands under her body to take everything off.

She pulled back from the kiss so that she could look him in the eye. They stared hard into each other's eyes. Finally, Hermione said, "I love you."

"I love you, too."

They shared one more passionate kiss before he smoothly slid off her jeans.

The next morning, they had woken from their slumber a mess. Hermione looked over to see that it was three in the morning. She was tired after getting only an hour and a half of sleep, but she didn't complain and neither did Ron. They had both spent their last night together as a unit, and she knew she would miss that once he was gone.

She drove Ron to the airport and stayed with him until his plane was called to leave. She painfully kissed him goodbye, both of them holding back tears. Even during the drive to work, her face remained dry.

She tried all day not to think about Ron and how he left, but when she got home the tears flowed out of her like there was no tomorrow. She was sobbing so hard to the point where she couldn't breathe, and it didn't take long for there to be an abundance of used tissues on her bed that she had no intentions of cleaning up.

She let the tears flow out for another hour until she had no more to shed. That's when she realized she hadn't eaten much all day, only a banana nut muffin that was in the kitchen at work. Although the muffin was all she had, Hermione wasn't very hungry. She didn't feel like eating, but it was almost nine o'clock, and she knew that if she fell asleep without eating that she would regret it in the morning.

She forced herself to go downstairs to make a snack when the house phone rang. Who would be calling her at this hour? Surely it wasn't Harry or Ginny because they would have just called her cell.

She made her way to the phone to pick it up. A voice on the other end sounded familiar, but she couldn't put a face to it.

"Who is this?" she asked.

"Lewis, from work," the voice said. "Are you busy?"

How did Lewis know her house number?

"Why?" she inquired.

"I know it's late, but I was wondering if you've had dinner yet. I haven't and I have a thing about not eating alone," he replied rather sheepishly.

Hermione smiled and replied, "No I haven't eaten yet. Where were you thinking of going?"

He paused to think about it for a moment, then said, "There's a really nice burger place near the work building. Is that okay?"

She didn't really care where she ate, she just needed food inside of her. She said yes and he told her the address. When she hung up she went upstairs to wipe off her smudged makeup and put on a shirt that wasn't stained with tears.

When she got to the address that Lewis told her about, she walked inside and looked around. She couldn't seem him at first, until a pale hand at the back of the restaurant moving back and forth caught her eye. She looked at the hand and the body attached to it. She smiled in greeting and made her way to where he sat. Then he stood up to order their food.

When he returned, they started off with small talk about the weather, then somehow managed to talk about Draco when a waitress came by with two cheeseburgers, two sets of fries and two soft drinks atop a tray.

"So you actually knew Draco from you went to school together?" asked Lewis while the waitress set their food on the table.

Hermione nodded. "We could have shared better times, but you can't change the past."

Puzzled, Lewis asked, "What do you mean? Were you not friends?"

She didn't feel like explaining her past with Draco: frequently being called a mudblood, punching him in the face, how he tormented her best friend because he was the Chosen One. Hermione was much too tired to relay all the details, when she remembered something.

She and Draco were _wizards_, and they met at a _wizarding _school. She couldn't tell a muggle, especially one she had just met, that she had supernatural powers and that the reason her and Draco were not friends was because she came from a family that wasn't "special" like Draco's.

So she simply shrugged and said, "He thought himself above me, which led to some feuds."

She could tell that Lewis saw that she had wanted to drop the subject, so they went back to talking about the weather while they ate.

They stayed at the burger place until about ten o'clock. When they finished their meal, they walked outside together into the crisp air of London. Lewis asked Hermione if she needed a ride home, but since she was covered, they parted ways and agreed to see each other the next day at work.

On the drive home, Hermione found herself grateful for Lewis. Not him, but the dinner he ate with her. At least she didn't have to eat alone that night. It was a good distraction to keep her mind off of Ron and how he just left.

_It's going to take forever to get over him_, she thought.

5


	6. Chapter 6

Hermione woke up next Saturday morning to the phone ringing. When she picked it up, Ginny's perky voice sounded through the receiver.

"Hermione! Have you had lunch yet?"

She checked the clock on Ron's side of the bed and saw that it was only ten in the morning. "Ginny, it's not even time for lunch. I didn't even have breakfast," Hermione replied.

"Excellent! Harry and I were thinking of going to lunch and we didn't want you to eat alone. You'll come with us then?" asked Ginny.

"Gin, you know I love spending time with you and Harry. And I do appreciate the effort, but I really don't feel like being the third wheel with you and Harry tonight. I know that you know that I'm lonely and sad, but I'm not yet ready to spend time with people. I just want to be alone," she said sadly.

"Hermione, if you spend time alone then you'll just get even more upset. I can only imagine how difficult things might be for you, and I really do want to help," Ginny replied, sounding a little hurt.

She knew now that there was almost no point in arguing against her; Ginny always did seem to have her way anyway. There was also the fact that Hermione woke up ten minutes ago and was much too tired to counter if there was no point.

Finding no way out of this, she tiredly agreed to lunch with her two friends and got out of bed to shower and get ready.

Although the lunch was meant to keep her mind off Ron, she kept thinking about him while she got ready. When she was taking a shower, she remembered the day when Ron had to use the toilet so bad and ran into the washroom to do his business. While she was getting dressed, she saw all the clothes that Ron had forgotten to pack. When she was in the kitchen preparing some toast and juice for herself, she saw Ron's carton of strawberry-banana juice in the fridge.

She was on the verge of crying, and almost did when the doorbell snapped Hermione out of her miserable thoughts. At first she was trying to remember who could be at the door. It took her a few seconds to remember that it was most likely Ginny and Harry. She was a complete mess.

She opened the door for her two companions and they set off to lunch together; Harry driving with Ginny in the passenger seat and Hermione in the back, perfect view of Harry through the rear-view mirror. She saw him look at her a few times, giving her a look that said, "I'm sorry," through the crinkle of his eyes and raising of his brows. Every time, she would just nod and look away, because his apologies only made her feel sadder.

As the trio sat down at their table in the restaurant, they all felt the tension that surrounded them. Their waiter had seated them at a square table meant for four, and Hermione instinctively looked at the missing seat across from her. From the corner of her eye, she could see Harry to her left look down at his feet under the table, feeling sorry for her. On her other side, she could see Ginny wanted to cheer both Harry and herself up, but not sure how.

_They went out of their way to do this for me_, Hermione thought. _Even though I'm not, the least I could do is seem happy for their sake_. So she snapped up her head and looked Ginny in the eye.

"How are your plates and such working out for you? I hope they are all right, we spent hours picking every single one," Hermione started, a bit too cheerfully.

This got their attention. Even Harry, who seemed unapproachable, looked up at her in shock. Ginny was no longer smiling, and was now staring at her friend in disbelief.

"Why are you both looking at me like that? Are they not working out for you?"

"No, they're working fine, it's just that earlier it didn't seem like you- oh, never mind," Ginny said with a smile. _Now_ she seemed happy. When Hermione looked over at Harry, she could see that the sight of the two girls being happy made him happy as well.

They continued chatting and laughing during their lunch. When they were finished eating and were on dessert, the waiter walked by with the bill, causing Hermione and Ginny to fight over who paid. Hermione wanted to pay since it was the least she could do after her friends had been so nice to her, but Ginny wanted to pay because she wanted to keep making Hermione happy.

When they finally settled on Ginny paying, the two women turned to reach for the bill, only to find that is was gone. They looked around in confusion and looked at Harry who looked absolutely amused and started to laugh. It took them a while to realize that he had paid, and were now getting mad at him since they had gotten into an argument over it. Though they weren't mad for long and soon made their way to drop Hermione off at her house.

When she got home, there was a voicemail waiting for her. She clicked the button and was surpried to hear Lewis' voice.

"_Hello again, Hermione. I was just calling to see what you thought of last night. I know that I called you out last minute but I rather enjoyed myself. Maybe we could do it again tonight. Call me if you want to go. Here's my number_."

And so he told her his number while Hermione stared shockingly at the phone. She had to admit, she was extremely disappointed when she heard that it was Lewis and not Ron. It had been a few days already. That should have been enough to fly there, move into his apartment and get settled. Couldn't he have called to make sure that she was okay? And to let her knew that he was okay? He had said that he cared for her dearly, so why wasn't he showing it? Calling was the least he could do after he just left her.

It was only two in the afternoon, so she had time to think about whether or not she should go to dinner with Lewis.

She spent most of her day reading and waiting for Ron to contact her, but mainly reading. Around 5:30, she started to get hungry and was considering Lewis' dinner invite.

She went up to get the phone when it started to ring. In hopes that it was Ron, she quickly pressed "accept" before checking the number on the screen.

It was Ron.

"Hullo? Mione?"

"Ron!" she exclaimed. "I'm so happy to hear from you. How've you been?"

He started to giggle. "I'm great, Hermione. America is quite peculiar, if you didn't know. Did you know that they don't say 'motorway' over here? Apparently the proper term is a 'highway'".

She started to laugh with him. "That _is_ peculiar. Are you alright though? You're not ill are you?"

"No Mione, I'm perfectly fine. I actually just got off my lunch break at work. I'll call you later if I get the chance alright? I love you." And he hung up.

She put the phone down and leaned back against the counter. She smiled in relief because she now knew that Ron was safe. That phone call was all the reassurance she needed.

Hermione wasn't sure how she was going to keep this up. She was hurting, and it was bad. Nights were especially hard because she was used to feeling the warmth of his arm around her while she slept, but now her torso was cold during her slumber. She missed the talks she would have with Ron when she couldn't sleep. Ron was obviously tired, but she was grateful that he stayed up and helped her to sleep. She missed it all and counted every second until he returned.

Her stomach growled. It was so loud, it almost sounded like a dog. She looked at the clock on the oven again. 5:45.

Her reminiscing had made her weak and lazy, so she thought to call Lewis and tell her that she would meet him at which ever restaurant he wanted.

She dialed his number and waited for him to answer. After five rings, his raspy voice sounded through the phone. Something about his voice made her shiver, but with excitement.

"Hello?"

"Lewis? Hi, it's Hermione. I wanted to tell you that I would love to go to dinner with you tonight."

"Oh… Sorry, Hermione, I'm on my way to have dinner with someone else at the moment. Maybe another time, alright?"

Hermione, trying not to sound hurt, replied, "Yes, that's fine. See you on Monday then."

She hung up and was now hungrier than she was before. How could Lewis have already made plans with someone else? She felt special a few hours ago when he called to ask her, but maybe he thought that she wasn't important enough and decided to spend his time with someone else. Men.

Hermione quickly looked through her fridge in hopes of something to eat, but there were only some juice cartons and vegetables that she had never used, and should probably get around to throwing out.

She sighed and closed the fridge while she wondered what she was going to do for dinner. Just as she decided that she was going to go to another burger place, the phone rang again.

She knew it wasn't Ron because he was working now, and it couldn't be Lewis either because he was at dinner with someone else. Then who was it?

Hermione nervously picked up the phone and said, "Hello?"

"Ms. Granger?" a crisp, professional sounding man said.

"Sorry, who is this?"

"I actually work with you. I'm not sure if you know me; my name is Bob."

"Oh," she said, shocked, "Hello Bob. Is there a reason for your call tonight?" She tried to sound as polite as possible because he seemed like a man with lots of authority.

Until she heard an immature giggle through the phone. "I'm sorry, Granger, that was just too much. I can't use formalities with you. Just doesn't sound right."

"What do you want, Malfoy?" she said, completely annoyed.

"I just called to know what you're doing for dinner tonight. Lewis told me he wasn't eating with you."

Why would Lewis tell Draco that she isn't eating dinner with him? She saw them at lunch the other day, and they seemed close, but she had now idea just how close they were. And why would Draco, of all people, care what her dinner plans were?

"Why do you even want to know that, Draco? So you can mock me for having dinner alone?"

With a smug giggle, he replied, "No, quite the opposite. I want you to have dinner with me tonight."

4


End file.
